Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA – Photo by Icon Sport

Vegas Golden Knights vs Washington Capitals: Can the Knights stay undefeated?

The Washington Capitals are hosting the Vegas Golden Knights today at Capitol One Arena.

The Golden Knights are off to a perfect start

The Vegas Golden Knights are on top of the Western Conference with a 3-0-0 record at the start of the season. They are coming off a 3-1 win over Anaheim Ducks in the last one. Vegas is fourth in the league scoring 5 goals per game and tenth allowing 2.67. Jack Eichel leads the team with 7 total points, six of which are assists.

Are the Capitals going in the right direction?

The Washington Capitals are 15th in the Eastern Conference with a 0-0-1 record. In the season opener, they lost 5-3 to the New Jersey Devils. They scored first in each period of that game, but had no chance of winning at the end. John Carlson and Dylan Strome had two points each in that game.

Betting Trends

The Capitals are 0-5 SU in their last five games overall, 2-6 SU in their last 8 home games, and 5-2 SU in their last 7 games against the Golden Knights. Washington has played under the total goal line in 5 of their last 7 games against Vegas, in 5 of their last 7  games against teams from the Western Conference, and in 13 of their last 17 games against teams from the Pacific Division. The Golden Knights are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games overall, 6-1 SU in their last 7 games against Washington, 2-5 SU in their last 7 games on the road, and 2-5 SU in their last 7 games when visiting DC. Vegas has played under the total goal line in 8 of their last 12 games overall and 4 of their last 6 games against teams from the Metropolitan Division.

Prediction and Conclusion

The Vegas Golden Knights faced an early elimination from the playoff last season and have made a statement early on that they are ready to bounce back this year. The Golden Knights started by winning the first three games on the schedule, but all of them were at home. The visit to DC is starting their three-game road trip on the East. The Capitals have played only one game so far and will be well rested before this one. They made a couple of solid additions to the roster in the offseason, and their offense should look way better this year. It will not be easy to score against the Golden Knights, who are among the best defensive teams in the league in recent years, but the Capitals will need to set the tone for the season. Therefore, we go with over 6.5 goals in this one.